System and method for distanced interactive experiences

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods according to present principles allow social distancing within themed attractions such as haunted attractions in order to allow the enjoyment of the same in various circumstances. These circumstances include times of pandemic, for customers that are afraid to congregate in large groups, for customers that desire to control aspects of the experience, and so on.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/148,095, filed Jan. 13, 2021, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/134,130, filed Jan. 5, 2021,and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/135,927, filed Jan.11, 2021. This application is also a continuation-in-part patentapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/094,460, filed Nov.10, 2020, entitled “VIRTUAL REALITY DEVICES AND ACCESSORIES”, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/094,428, filed Nov.10, 2020 (same title), which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/086,909, filed Nov. 2, 2020 (same title), whichis a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/945,765, filedJul. 31, 2020 (same title), which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/931,958, filed May 14, 2020 (same title), nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,761,325, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/785,970, filed Feb. 10, 2020 (same title), nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,690,913, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/382,448, filed Apr. 12, 2019 (same title), nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,558,042, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/669,744, filed Mar. 26, 2015 (same title), nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,725,298, which claims priority from U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/970,512, filed Mar. 26, 2014. Thecontents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentireties.

FIELD

The invention relates to the field of themed attractions, and moreparticular to systems and methods allowing operation of a themedattraction in a safe manner.

BACKGROUND

Virtual Reality (VR) headsets, such as the Oculus Rift®, Oculus Quest,HTC Vive, various Windows Mixed Reality headsets, as well as augmentedreality headsets such as the Microsoft Hololens are poised to become asignificant new factor in computer environments, including gaming,virtual tourism, and the like. The same may even be gaining popular intimes of pandemic, as other sources of entertainment, e.g., theme parks,have been closed. Of course, in times of pandemic, other sorts ofcomputer entertainment become more popular as well.

In addition, themed attractions have been extraordinarily popular formany years. Such range from small individual carnival rides to hugetheme parks such as Disneyland. Individual attractions may include boththrill rides as well as so-called “dark rides” that carry a user throughthe telling of a story. More generally, and citing Wikipedia, “A darkride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengersaboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes thattypically contain animation, sound, music and special effects.”.

Another type of themed attraction is a haunted attraction, in whichtypically patrons walk through a “maze” and are treated to variousthrills, including so-called “jump” or “startle” scares (delivered by“scare actors”), as well as scenes of varying levels of gore. Otheraspects of such haunted attractions may include animatronics, light andsound effects, and the like.

The themed attraction industry was seriously hurt in 2020 due to thenovel coronavirus pandemic, which closed theme parks and restaurants,shut down businesses of all kinds, and generally prevented attractioncustomers from getting together in any sort of high population density,as are common for themed attractions including haunted attractions,popular culture conventions, theme parks, or the like.

This lack of ability to enjoy such pursuits has led to discontent onmany levels.

In some cases, such as thrill rides, where riders can be spaced apartand need not necessarily come into close contact with operators, theenjoyment of the ride may still be potentially possible, if the ride isotherwise allowed to operate and appropriate social distancing isobserved. In other cases, however, such as in the area of hauntedattractions, there is simply no substitute for use of a human actor.Human actors, as opposed to animal, can “think on their feet”, adjustingtheir actions to the perceived desires of the guest, and simply providebetter acting, e.g., more effective scares. Generally operators havedifficulty employing animatronics to achieve similar levels ofinteraction, e.g., similar levels of scare.

But having multiple so-called “scare actors” in close proximity to eachother and to multiple groups of guests, each with one to severalpersons, compounds the danger of viral transmission. In addition, somepotential patrons are simply afraid to go to such haunted attractionsbecause they are unable to control the experience or are afraid ofappearing scared in front of their friends.

This Background is provided to introduce a brief context for the Summaryand Detailed Description that follow. This Background is not intended tobe an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter nor beviewed as limiting the claimed subject matter to implementations thatsolve any or all of the disadvantages or problems presented above.

SUMMARY

Certain implementations of systems and methods according to presentprinciples meet the needs of the above in several ways. In addition,this application incorporates by reference the subject matter of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/669,744, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,725,298,owned by the assignee of the present application and herein incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

As an introduction, it is noted that the problem of viral transmissionin the case of multiple scare actors entertaining multiple guests may beaddressed in part according to present principles by the use ofnetworked computer technology, especially where such can provide animmersive environment for an isolated patron, but where the sociallydistanced or isolated patron is grouped virtually in a commonenvironment with other patrons, as well as with one or more actors,where all or some are represented by corresponding avatars in the commonenvironment, such as is enabled by virtual reality (VR) or augmentedreality (AR) glasses, goggles, headsets, or other such head-mounteddisplays (HMD). In some cases, the immersive environment can be embodiedin this way: a user may operate a network computer and be provided witha view of a common environment using a display, e.g., a VR headset, ARheadset, or a separate computer monitor. In some implementations,portable computers, such as may be provided by tablet computers, laptopcomputers, or smart phones, may also be employed, although typically thelevel of immersion is in some cases lowered as the screen size goesdown. Accordingly, where the use of an AR or especially a VR headset orhead-mounted display (“HMD”) is employed, the level of immersion can begreatly increased.

A user experiencing this immersive environment (which can be a “common”environment in the case of multiple users viewing the same environment)may then be caused to traverse through a maze, which here is intended tobe an inclusive term meaning a path or set of paths through which a usertravels and during which the user may encounter various interactionswith actors. In some cases the interactions are entirelycomputer-generated, both in terms of their appearance as well as the AIemployee to control them. In other cases the interactions are displayedusing computer-generated (CG) avatars and CG models, but theinteractions are controlled by actual actors who are operating the CGavatars which are situated within the common environment and are viewingthe common environment through the viewpoint of the avatar.Alternatively, actors may not themselves have a VR view of the commonenvironment but may still be able to operate an avatar within the same.The actor actions, which may be translated into corresponding orassociated or related or correlated avatar actions, and the operationmay include head rotations, head translations, hand movements (where thehands are imaged by a head-mounted camera (or other camera) or where thehand movements are indicated by the locations and orientations ofhandheld controllers), body motions, and on up to full body movementsusing appropriate body tracking or other such motion capture technology.Various combinations and subcombinations of these types of operationswill also be understood to be implementable.

In some cases the actors and/or the maze is real or actual, e.g., aphysical building, and a video of the interaction is transmitted to theuser's immersive environment. In the case of a haunted attraction, theinteractions may include seeing something scary, seeing something scarythat is animated, encountering a jump scare or startle scare caused byan avatar controlled by a human scare actor. Regarding this latterimplementation, the human scare actor may be controlling a monsteravatar or other such avatar of a scary creature, in the case where theenvironment is computer-generated. In the case where a “customer” isexperiencing a themed attraction by having an actual camera traverse anactual set, i.e., a haunted attraction maze, then the scare actor wouldbe “real” as well, though in video, and would actually jump out at thereal camera to elicit the desired entertainment, e.g., a scare.

A disadvantage of such multi-performer themed attractions is that eachactor (variously termed “actor”, “scare actor”, “performer”, and thelike) spends a significant portion of time standing around, not doinganything, e.g., between arrivals of groups of guests (variously termed“user”, “guest”, “customer”, “client”, “patron”, and the like). Systemsand methods according to present principles allow a single actor, or asmall group of actors, to take on multiple roles within a singleattraction, and thus allow the same to operate significantly moreefficiently. This affordance is enabled by the networked computertechnology, which allows a single actor to jump from location tolocation within a maze. In this way, the actor need not come into closecontact with patrons, nor need the actor come into close contact withother actors. This facility is controlled by the actor interfacedescribed below. As an additional benefit, a single actor may be enabledto adopt various and different personages at each different location,because all that need be changed is the avatar the actor controls.Moreover, in a particular embodiment, a scare actor can move from onelocation, often termed a “scare pocket” or more generally an “actionpocket”, to another location or scare pocket rapidly and can also changethe character they are playing, i.e., portraying, by changing theiravatar. It is noted that this benefit is a particular benefit of thecase where a human scare actor is controlling a computer-generated imageor avatar; however, the environment itself can be computer-generated oractual. If computer-generated, then such may be best viewed within avirtual reality HMD. This is also true if the environment is actual(variously termed “actual” or “real” or “real life”) but not local tothe customer. If the environment is actual and local to the customer,i.e., the customer's house, then the greatest immersion may be via an ARHMD that can directly view the locale (the house) through the AR glassdisplay or a VR HMD that is equipped with a forward-facing camera andcan either provide a video feed of what the customer is seeing or cangenerate a CG version of what the customer is seeing.

In one aspect, the invention is directed towards a method of operating avirtual experience, including: operating a server to communicate with afirst user computing environment, the first user computing environmentcoupled to a first display, the first user computing environmentconfigured to generate a first camera view corresponding to a locationof a first camera within a maze, the first camera view viewing anenvironment displayed in the first display; and operating the server tocommunicate with an actor computing environment, the actor computingenvironment coupled to an actor display, the actor computing environmentconfigured to generate an actor interface, the actor interface providinga link whereby an actor activating the link may access and control anactor avatar situated in an action pocket within the environment, wherethe actor interface further displays one or more entries, and where adisplay of a particular entry is in part instantiated based on when auser game object associated with the first user computing environmentinteracts with a respective particular trigger within the environment.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of thefollowing. The first display may be selected from the group consistingof a virtual reality display, an augmented reality display, a computermonitor, a tablet display, or a smart phone display. The environment maybe a common environment, and the method may further include operatingthe server to communicate with a second user computing environment, thesecond user computing environment coupled to a second display, thesecond user computing environment configured to generate a second cameraview corresponding to a location of a second camera within the maze, thesecond camera view viewing the common environment displayed in thesecond display.

A position and orientation of the second camera view may be the same asa position and orientation of the first camera view. The actor computingenvironment may include a virtual or augmented reality headsetassociated with the actor, the virtual or augmented reality headset mayinclude a respective virtual or augmented reality display, the actorcomputing environment may further include one or more handheldcontrollers enabling actor interaction with the actor interface, theactor computing environment may further include an input forvisualization and depiction of actor hands, where data for the input forvisualization and depiction of actor hands is generated in part by theone or more handheld controllers or by a camera imaging the actor hands.

The camera may be external or may be situated on the virtual oraugmented reality headset associated with the actor. The virtual oraugmented reality headset associated with the actor and coupled to theactor computing environment may be configured to generate an actor viewwithin the environment associated with the activated link. The actorview may be associated with the location and orientation of the actoravatar. The actor view may be associated with the action pocket. Themethod may further include capturing actions of the actor using theactor computing environment, and may further include operating theserver to display a representation of the captured actions within theenvironment. The captured actions may include 3-dof head movements,6-dof head movements, hand movements, and so on. The hand movements maybe based on hand images captured by a camera or controller movements,where the controller movements may include both controller position andorientation. The hand images may also be captured by a camera andinclude hand position, and orientation, and optionally hand gesture. Thecaptured actions may include one or more actor vocalizations, and themethod may further include modulating the one or more actorvocalizations. The display of the one or more entries may includesorting the one or more entries according to a characteristic timeassociated with each entry. The characteristic time may be associatedwith a time duration between a time at which the user game objectinteracts with the respective particular trigger and a time at which theuser game object is expected to reach a location associated with theaction pocket within the environment.

The user game object may be associated with multiple game objects, eachgame object associated with a user. The multiple game objects may beeach associated with a user avatar. The multiple game objects may befurther each associated with a user virtual camera. The multiple gameobjects may be each associated with a user virtual camera. The multiplegame objects may be associated with respective multiple user computingenvironments, the multiple game objects each under the control of arespective one of the multiple user computing environments. The multiplegame objects may be each allowed to roam under the control of therespective one of the multiple user computing environments, but suchthat the multiple game objects are constrained against moving outside ofa defined area. The defined area may be moved at a nonzero speed throughthe environment. The nonzero speed may be constant or is varied. One ofthe multiple game objects may be configured to automatically followanother of the multiple game objects through the maze, the automaticallyfollowing caused by a user of the user computing environment associatedwith the one of the multiple game objects.

The environment may include computer-generated components. Theenvironment may further include components based on video data. Theenvironment may be generated using video data.

The video data may be data from a light field camera and the firstdisplay may be a VR display or an AR display. The environment may be areal environment and the first display may be an AR display. The methodmay further include receiving first locomotion data from the first usercomputing environment, and using the first locomotion data to translateor rotate the first camera view, or both.

The first locomotion data may be received from an accelerometer, amultidirectional treadmill, or a camera in signal communication with thefirst user computing environment. The first locomotion data may bereceived from a joystick in signal communication with the first usercomputing environment. The actor interface may also include one or moreaction buttons, the one or more action buttons linking to potentialactions performed by the actor or actor avatar upon activation of therespective button. The potential action may be an audio action, andwhere upon activation of the respective button an audio source may becaused to activate within the environment. The potential action may be avisual action, and where upon activation of the respective button theactor avatar may be caused to perform a predefined visual action withinthe environment. The visual action may be a CG action or a video action.

The actor interface further includes an information section, theinformation section displaying information about users or user settingsassociated with one of the one or more entries. The method may furtherinclude operating the server to receive one or more user settings fromthe first user computing environment, and where the received one or moreuser settings are used to control at least in part an appearance of theactor avatar or of the environment. The method may further includeoperating the server to receive data about the maze from the first usercomputing environment, the data about the maze associated with a userdesired locale. The received data may be video data or layout data. Themethod may further include processing the received data to determinelocations of one or more action pockets. The processing may includedetermining using object recognition locations of one or more doors,windows, or cabinets. The method may further include procedurallygenerating the environment at least in part following the step ofoperating a server to communicate with a first user computingenvironment. The procedural generation of the environment may beconfigured to allow the maze to be traversed by a user in a period oftime that is equal to, less than, or otherwise within a predefinedduration of time.

The server may be a social networking server. The server may be a serverof a social networking site, and the method may further includeoperating the server to allow the first user computing environment tostream the first camera view to viewers on the social networking site.

In other implementations, systems and methods according to presentprinciples include a server incorporating a non-transitory computerreadable medium having instructions stored thereon that cause the serverto perform the methods described above, as well as subsets of the stepsof these methods.

In yet other implementations, systems and methods according to presentprinciples include one or more headsets incorporating a non-transitorycomputer readable medium having instructions stored thereon that causethe respective one or more headsets to perform the methods describedabove, as well as subsets of the steps of these methods. In some cases,the headsets work together to perform the methods as an aggregatesystem. In some cases the headsets include appropriate computingenvironments, and in other cases the headsets generally only provide adisplay and sensors, and the same are coupled to a user computingenvironment.

In yet other implementations, systems and methods according to presentprinciples include one or more headsets in combination with one or moreservers, each incorporating a non-transitory computer readable mediumhaving instructions stored thereon that cause the respective one or moreheadsets in combination with the one or more servers to perform themethods described above, as well as subsets of the steps of thesemethods.

Advantages of the invention may include, in certain embodiments, one ormore of the following. Enjoyable interactions may be enabled in a waysafe from the dangers of viral transmissions. A single actor or areduced number of actors may be enabled to provide interactions forusers, customers, guests, or patrons, because the same may be enabled toquickly traverse from one action pocket to another, as well as to changethe appearance of their avatar, due to the virtual nature of the mazeand the virtual nature of the avatar appearance. Here it is noted thatthe virtual maze may be computer-generated (CG) or may be displayedusing a video image of an actual physical maze. Enjoyable interactionsmay be obtainable using systems and methods according to presentprinciples even for patrons who are afraid to go to physical themedattractions or who are unable to do so because of disability or thelike. Actors may be enabled to provide interactions at multiple virtuallocations in an efficient manner using a UI (also termed an “actorinterface”) which allows the actor to be notified of upcoming arrivalsof patrons, and even to sort which interactions are upcoming in order oftheir likely occurrence, so as to allow the actor to prepare for thevirtual interaction. Other advantages will be understood from thedescription that follows, including the figures and claims.

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form. The concepts are further described in the DetailedDescription section. Elements or steps other than those described inthis Summary are possible, and no element or step is necessarilyrequired. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended foruse as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.The claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solveany or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method according to present principles.

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a system according to presentprinciples.

FIG. 3 is another schematic illustration of a system according topresent principles.

FIG. 4 is another schematic illustration of a system according topresent principles.

FIG. 5 is another flowchart of a method according to present principles.

FIG. 6 is another schematic illustration of a system according topresent principles.

FIGS. 7A and 7B shows a top view of an exemplary maze experienceaccording to present principles.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary user interface according to presentprinciples. Note that while the term “user interface” is employed forthis element, it is generally an “actor” interface, as actors willgenerally use the same, and the term “user” as described above has beenmore generally used in connection with patrons, customers or guests.

FIG. 9 shows another exemplary user interface according to presentprinciples, illustrating an introductory screen allowing a patron toadjust aspects of the interactions in the maze experience, e.g., theintensity.

FIG. 10 shows a top view of another exemplary maze experience accordingto present principles, showing in particular a CG maze.

FIG. 11 shows a top view of another exemplary maze experience accordingto present principles, showing in particular a CG procedurally-generatedmaze.

FIG. 12 shows a top view of another exemplary maze experience accordingto present principles, showing in particular a maze that is real,actual, or physical. Such a maze exists in the real world and a video orCG reconstruction of the same is employed to create a maze experience.

FIG. 13 is another flowchart of a method according to presentprinciples.

FIG. 14 shows a screenshot of an interactive maze with action/scarepockets according to present principles as developed within the Unitygame engine.

Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Elements arenot to scale unless otherwise noted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

VR headsets, while providing high degrees of immersion, can also be verydisorienting to a user. Accordingly, it can be helpful to users to haveplayer character (PC) avatars move at a slow rate through the onlineenvironment. If a game or online environment is designed for VR, thenthe PC speed within the environment can be designed to be slow or belowa predetermined threshold, e.g., less than 5 mph or 10 mph as measuredwithin the online environment. If the game environment or gameapplication is being retrofitted for VR, then the PC speed can be sloweddown to the levels described.

Another disorienting aspect is that one typically games or performsvirtual tourism while sitting down, while the PC is walking aroundwithin the online environment. This can be disorienting too, if for noother reason than the height differential between standing and sitting.

Various solutions are available. In one implementation, and referring tothe flowchart 10 of FIG. 1 and the schematic diagram of the system 20 ofFIG. 2, motorized pads 32 and 34 may be placed on the feet of a user 18and interfaced with the game engine 28 running on a computingenvironment 22. Alternatively, a frame buffer 26 may read the display 24and estimate when character appendages (responsible for movement) arestriking a surface. The estimation may be performed by a VR module 36running on the computing environment, or alternatively the VR module mayrun within a VR headset. When the user walks through the environment,the motorized pads sequentially push up on the pads of the feet of thewearer. The interfacing may be, but is not limited to be, such that whenthe PC's left foot makes a step in the online environment, the leftmotorized pad is activated. When the PC's right foot makes a step, theright motorized pad is activated. Speed changes may be recognized, ascan force with which a foot strikes the surface, e.g., whether the useris walking delicately or running hard. Standing in place can besimulated by relatively constant pressure on each foot (leaning may alsobe accommodated). The motorized pads may be conveniently disposed on asurface on which a user rest their feet, or within footwear.

In one method, a signal may be received from the game engine that acharacter is moving (step 12), and in some cases the signal may evenindicate whether a left foot or right foot is currently moving. In somecases the movement, and/or a particular appendage moving, may bedetected using a frame buffer analyzing the display (step 14). A VRmodule, or other input/output module within the game, may then providean impression on the feet of the user corresponding to the movement ofthe player character within the game or other virtual environment (step16). Such an impression may be performed using, e.g., a motorized pad.

It is noted that the accuracy of the motorized pads need not be perfect.So long as the user generally feels forces against their feet, theimmersion may be maintained.

Another disorienting factor comes from the lack of vision outside of theVR headset, and in particular the aspect that if a user moves theirhands up in front of their face, they do not see their hands. Whileseveral hand and body sensors exist and can be used to detect when handsshould be rendered, such as generally complicated and too expensive formost users. Accordingly, in a system 30 illustrated in FIG. 3, a simplelow resolution camera 42, mounted on the VR headset 38, may be employedto detect the approximate position of the user's hands and feed the sameinto the game engine to allow for the rendering of “approximate”versions of the user's hands.

Various benefits inure to such systems. First, the system may scale tohigher resolutions as cameras become higher resolution, cheaper, andlighter (weight is an important factor for inclusion onto a headset).Camera position on a headset is convenient for visualization as there isunity in that what the camera sees is the same as what the user wouldexpect to view from their eye position within the headset.

Another important application concerns multiplayer uses. In particular,and referring in particular to the system 40 depicted in FIG. 4, twousers 18A and 18B may each have a respective VR headset 38A and 38B andmay be in data communication with each other via a communications link44, e.g., over the Internet, Bluetooth, LAN, WLAN, cellularcommunications, NFC, or any other sort of communications technologyexisting now or developed later. The client application on each person'ssystem, e.g., computing environments 46A and 46B, respectively, whichcontrol operations on VR headsets 38A and 38B, may be a thin client or asubstantial one. It is noted here that the headsets 38A and 38B may alsobe embodied by augmented reality (AR) headsets as well. In addition, theheadsets may well incorporate all the computing functionality needed toperform the applications described here; this may be particularly trueas processor power continues to increase along with miniaturization. Thesystems and methods according to present principles may work well withboth types of systems.

Alternatively, the client systems may communicate via a web applicationor a hybrid system where one user employs a standalone client andanother a web application. The web application or standalone client mayform a portion of a network such as a social network wherecommunications occur over one or more network servers 48. For example, aFacebook® application may employ VR headsets and users may be therebyenabled to communicate with each other. In this system, where previouslymembers would communicate with each other via Facebook video or voicechatting, a VR communication application may advantageously takeadvantage of the virtual reality SDK, e.g., Oculus Rift® SDK, to performsimilar functionality.

However, in systems and methods according to current principles, usersmay go far beyond just seeing each other. For example, each user mayhave associated therewith an avatar, and various levels of avatarcustomization can be allowed. In some cases, a selection of hairlengths, hair colors, facial shapes, skin colors, body types, heights,eye colors, and the like, may be employed to allow customization of anavatar. In more advanced implementations, users may be permitted tosubmit photographs of their head or their entire body to allow athree-dimensional reconstruction of the same to be created and employedin the simulation.

In a particular implementation of a VR simulation within a socialnetwork, a “page tour” functionality is enabled where users can givetours of their social networking page to a friend or other reviewer.Users may even record (within the application) a video of such tours, sothat others may be enabled to view the recorded tour at theirconvenience. In a page tour, a first user leads a second user on a tourof the events chronicled on the first user's social networking page. Forexample, the users may appear to walk down a timeline, with variouspictures at respective various locations in time. The first user maypoint out aspects of the photos or videos to the second user, and one orboth users may “teleport” to other pages by following links on the firstuser's social networking page. For example, if in the past the firstuser “checked in” at the Eiffel Tower in France, and the first user wasgiving a tour including that check in to a second user, the first user(or the second user) may click on a link to view a third-partythree-dimensional reconstruction of the Eiffel Tower, so as to allow thefirst user to give a tour of the Eiffel Tower to the second.

In the same way, the first user may “teleport” to a relative's page topoint out various family members or the like.

Other variations will also be understood. For example, the background ofthe virtual reality seen may not be just “black” or static. For example,if the first user is giving a tour of friends to a second user, Frenchscenes may provide a backdrop, and French music may be played as anaudio file.

In a general implementation, as shown in the flowchart 50 of FIG. 5, afirst step is that users become (or already are) friends on a socialnetwork, or are otherwise associated within a network, such that asecond user is allowed to view aspects and personal information of thefirst user (step 52). Alternatively, a first user may invite the seconduser to a tour.

Using virtual reality or augmented reality, the users become co-located(step 54), such that each can see the other, e.g., via the avatarsdescribed above, or in other ways. The first user then commences to givea virtual reality tour of the assets available to them, e.g., on aFacebook timeline (step 56). As noted, third-party assets may beincorporated if desired, e.g., to give a virtual tour of the Eiffeltower.

The tour may be in real-time, with both users using virtual realityheadsets at the same time, or the first user may record their tour forplayback in virtual reality to one or more other users at a later time.For example, such may afford the opportunity for a first user to recorda life tour for playback to relatives, friends, and loved ones, e.g., aspart of a genealogical history or autobiography. The same may be used inhospice situations to record a life history. The same may also form partof an ongoing VR journal.

Other variations will also be understood. For example, and referring tothe system 60 of FIG. 6, the immersive headsets described above mayadvantageously be combined with CPAP machines. In particular, CPAPmachines are known to have a low degree of patient compliance because oftheir uncomfortable character. However, if the VR headset is made largeenough, e.g., to envelop the user's nose, as illustrated in theimplementation 66, an oxygen supply can be directed through nozzles intothe user's nose, performing a positive pressure process, andaccomplishing the goals of prior CPAP machines. Alternatively, nozzles44 may be coupled to the headset 62 but located exterior thereof, e.g.,below the headset via pressure hoses 68, so as to allow engagement orpositioning adjacent the nasal canal of a user. In use, the same methodis performed, with the nozzles directing a positive flow of air oroxygen into the nose of the patient, allowing positive pressure, andaccomplishing the goal of prior CPAP machines.

Other variations will also be understood. For example, while VR deviceshave been disclosed, systems and methods according to present principlesmay also be implemented within the context of AR devices or othercomputer monitors or displays.

In addition, it is noted that systems and methods according to presentprinciples can generally not be performed without an appropriatecomputing environment configured to perform the steps disclosed here. Inaddition, by performing the steps as described, the computingenvironment is able to operate in a more efficient manner than virtualreality or augmented reality systems of the prior art.

In alternative embodiments, a particular variation of a commonenvironment may be a themed attraction such as a haunted attraction,e.g., a maze. For example, FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary maze 110having an entrance 111 and an exit 113. Various action pockets areshown, such as action pockets 115 a-115 e. In the case of a hauntedattraction, these action pockets are termed “scare pockets”. They aregenerally areas in which an actor controlling an avatar 112 may besituated (e.g., in hiding) until such time as they jump out and interactwith a group of patrons or guests represented by avatars 114. In thecase of a haunted attraction, the actor-controlled avatar may be causedto may jump out of the scare pocket and startle the patron or patrons,which may or may not have associated avatars. In the top view of FIG.7A, the patrons 114 would travel down towards the trigger area 21 a andwould generally encounter (touch or collide with) the trigger 21 a whenthey made a left turn (from their vantage point).

To accomplish the triggering, the avatars of the patrons 114 wouldeither have individual colliders attached or a single collider wouldattach to their group. In some cases, the patrons may not have avatars,but would still have a virtual camera associated (see camera 216 of FIG.10), either with each patron or with the group. In this case, the cameramay have an associated collider, and the same may be employed tointeract with the trigger area. Here it is noted that while the term“trigger area” is used, the same refers to the area pictured in the topdown view in the maze, and that actually the trigger area may in manycases have associated therewith a trigger volume. The trigger area 21 a(or equivalently, volume) would similarly have a collider attached, andby testing when the collider associated with the patrons 114 (or patronavatars) intersected with the collider associated with the trigger area21 a, the trigger would be activated. In some cases the patrons 114 (ortheir avatars) would have a mesh collider that maps to the general shapeof their avatar, or the same could be more simply associated with a boxcollider that closely matched the size of the group. Alternatively, theavatars may each have associated therewith a cylindrical collider thatroughly matched the “cylinder” shape of the avatar body. These collidertypes may be similar for that of the trigger area 21 a. In many cases acylindrical collider (out of the plane of the page of FIG. 7A) may beemployed. In another implementation a box collider that is roughly theshape of a rectangular solid may be employed, and such as indicated bybox collider 27 a which may be situated as is or also “around thecorner” and perpendicular to the current orientation of box collider 27a. Other orientations and shapes will also be understood.

The trigger area may, in some cases, be an actual area, or have a planarshape, in the case where the CG maze and avatars are generated ascomputer models termed “rigid bodies” and can thus be controlled to actunder a computer-generated influence of gravity; then the avatarappearing to step on the trigger area may act to instantiate an entry onthe actor interface.

Returning to the discussion of FIG. 7A, once the patrons have reachedthe trigger area, and once the actor has activated the appropriate linkas described below in connection with the actor interface, the avatar112 may be instantiated and appear at an action pocket or otherwisewithin the maze or other instantiation point. In one implementation, thelocation of the avatar 112 may be within the action pocket 117 a, readyto move through the access hole 119 a into the maze to perform theinteraction. It will be understood that in some cases there need be norigid body or collider on that part of the wall of the maze, and thusthe avatar 112 may simply move directly through the wall. However, forpurposes of immersion, it may be preferable for the avatar to actuallyappear to emerge through a doorway or hole, so as to heighten theimmersion of the user.

There is generally associated some characteristic length or distancebetween the trigger area 21 a and the actor 112. Two of these are shownin FIG. 7A. Distance 23 a shows the distance between the center of thetrigger area 21 a (or volume) and the center of the action pocket 117 a(or equivalently, volume). Distance 25 a shows the distance between thecenter of the trigger area 21 a and a perpendicular distance to thecenter of the action pocket 117 a if the actor 112 were to emergethrough the access hole 119 a. Distance 25 a may be more useful suchthat the actor 112 may be more likely to be aware of when the patrons114 are passing the area of the action pocket. But it will be understoodthat either could be used and that various other characteristicdistances may be employed according to the needs of the interaction orthe desire of the actor or operator.

As may be seen in FIG. 7B, the actor that controls avatar 112 generallyuses an actor computing environment 140. The actor computing environment140 includes a computer 144 which may be coupled to the cloud 130through a Wi-Fi connection 142. In some cases the actor can increasetheir own immersion in their acting by use of an HMD 146, which mayfurther include controllers 148. As shown by the inset, a heads-updisplay or HUD 167 (or just regular VR display) of the HMD 146 mayprovide a view of the patron(s) from the action pocket, as well aspotentially the trigger area, or whatever view may be set either theoperator or actor to best serve the purposes of providing, preparingfor, and delivering the interaction. The display 167 may include abutton 169 to allow the actor to return to the actor interface. Thisbutton 169 may be termed a “Back to UI” button. Typically, the actoremploys the actor interface to enter an area or action pocket near wherean interaction with patrons will occur; then to return to the UI, theactor may activate the button 169.

The controllers 148 may be employed for various purposes as described,including operation of the actor interface as well as for detecting alocation of the actor's hands, and thus allowing visualization of thesame, as well as adjoining parts, e.g., arms, upper body, and so on. Acamera 163 may also be employed for this purpose. In certain cases, forthe best fidelity for reproduction of the actor's entire body movements,a motion capture system 152 may be employed. A camera and green screensystem 165 may further be employed to allow video capture of actoractions, and however the actor action data is obtained, the same maythen be entered into the computer 144 (if necessary) and up to the cloud130 such that the server 131 may be operated to perform the desiredfunctionality described herein.

Similarly, the user, customer, guest, or patron may employ a patroncomputing environment 150. It too is connected to the cloud 130, whichincludes a server 131, but in this case through a Wi-Fi connection 156.

The patron computing environment 150 may include a computer 154, coupledto a display which may be a typical laptop or desktop display or a HMD158. As noted above, the HMD may be all-in-one and thus include thecomputing system integrated within the headset, or the same may simplyprovide a display and sensors that are run by a separate computingenvironment (the same is true for the HMD, if employed, of the actor).For visualization of the user's environment, hands, and so on, a camera162 may be employed, which may be external or mounted to the HMD. Thepatron may further employ controllers 164 to allow entry of dataincluding input settings, locomotion, and in some cases even virtualinteractions with the actor. For example, in the case of a hauntedattraction having scare actors, the controllers 164 may allow the userto “fight back” against the scare actor avatar 112.

How the system implemented for the maze of FIG. 7A may be employedaccording to present principles is now described. In more detail,implementations and arrangements according to present principles includesystems and methods wherein a user (or customer or client or patron) isenabled to enter and to follow a path through a maze (this term isintended to include any sort of system of paths (or just a single path)to enjoy interactions at one or more locations within the maze), andthen to exit the maze (either through a virtual exit or by their virtualcamera view or avatar or both fading out and transporting away from themaze experience). These interactions may be along a path, in which casethe system operator determines the order of interaction, or they may bealong multiple paths or even no paths at all, in which case the userdetermines the order of interaction.

It is noted that if the maze has no path, then the location of thetrigger area with regard to a particular action pocket may be morenuanced. Several trigger areas may be employed that “feed” into aparticular pocket, or the trigger area may be closer to the actionpocket than in the case where there is a path, in order to moreunambiguously determine the presence of a patron. In such circumstancesit may be more important for the actor to use a view provided, such as avideo feed, to view upcoming guests, in order to determine the righttime to emerge from the action pocket or to otherwise start theinteraction with the patron or set of patrons. Alternatively, multipletrigger areas may be employed to determine a trajectory of the user, toensure that the user is traversing in a direction appropriate for theinteraction. In other words, multiple trigger areas, if monitoredappropriately, may determine that the user is traveling in a particulardirection. If this is a desired direction and appropriate for the actionpocket, then the user may be instantiated as an entry on the actorinterface. If the determined direction is not appropriate for the actionpocket, the system may determine that the interaction is inappropriate,and the user or set of users may not be caused to be instantiated as anentry on the actor interface, and thus no interaction will occur.

Varieties of embodiments exist, and a nonlimiting list is tabulated inTable I below. Here certain varieties are listed which are currentlybelieved to be of certain interest:

-   -   1. A user (with or without being “embodied” by an avatar (the        user may simply be represented by a camera having a view of the        maze)) (or a group of users) traverses through a CG maze (which        may be predefined or which may be procedurally-generated) and        real or actual actors (also embodied by avatars) interact with        the user(s) in predefined or procedurally-generated “action        pockets”.    -   2. A user (or group of users) receives a video feed of an actual        camera that is traversing a real or actual maze, and real or        actual actors interact with the camera (and thus with the user        (viewer) of the camera).    -   3. A user (or group of users) receives a video feed of an actual        camera that is traversing a real or actual maze, and CG        characters (controlled by actual actors) act in locations        associated with action pockets and the CG character actions are        overlaid on the video feed.    -   4. A user (with or without being “embodied” by an avatar as        noted above) (or group of users) traverses through a CG maze        (which may be predefined or which may be procedurally-generated)        where the CG maze is based on a locale known or local to the        user. For example, the maze may be based on a layout of the        user's home, school, workplace, recreation center, and so on.        Action pockets, termed “locale action pockets”, may be        identified or determined. In the case of a haunted attraction,        these locale action pockets may be identified or determined as        locations through doors or windows or other such locations in        which the avatar of an actor can be hidden or obscured. Real or        actual actors, embodied by avatars, may then virtually interact        with the user in these locale action pockets. In the case of a        haunted attraction, an actor may jump out from a locale action        pocket to scare the user(s), and the impetus for the time of the        “jumping out” may be an indication on an actor user interface as        described below.    -   5. In an alternative embodiment to #4, the user may actually be        traversing through the locale, and the locale may be imaged        either directly (through an AR HMD) or through a camera (through        a VR HMD). In this alternative embodiment, in the case of the VR        HMD, the locale may be a direct video feed of the camera view or        may be virtual, e.g., a CG re-creation of the locale. As above,        action pockets, termed “locale action pockets”, may be        identified or determined. In the case of a haunted attraction,        these locale action pockets may be identified or determined as        locations through doors or windows that are visible by the user        camera, just beyond the sight of the user (in this way an avatar        of an actor can be hidden or obscured from view). Real or actual        actors, embodied by avatars, may then virtually interact with        the user in these locale action pockets. In the case of a        haunted attraction, the actor may cause his or her associated        avatar to appear to jump out from a locale action pocket to        scare the user. The appearance of the avatar would be either        superimposed on the actual view of the locale in the case of AR        HMD or would be superimposed on the video or CG view of the        locale in the case of a VR HMD.

A common motif in some of these varieties is that: (1) customers areseparated from performers, (2) customers can be (if desired) separatedfrom each other (e.g. if they are not from the same family or ‘pod’ asthat termed has been developed to mean those who live with or close toeach other and thus do not face particular additional viral transmissionrisk by contact), and (3) performers can be separated from performers.Performers may be separated from performers because the actual number ofperformers needed to populate the themed attraction or maze experiencemay be lessened because each performer can occupy multiple actionpockets. Of course, to provide a personal interaction, each performer(or more correctly, each performer's avatar or video image) can onlyprovide one interaction at a time, e.g., can only perform oneinteraction associated with a particular action pocket at a time.However, assuming that multiple action pockets need not be populated atany one given time, the performer can simply traverse practicallyinstantaneously between action pockets using an appropriate actorinterface, as is described below, and thus provide interactions wereever the same are needed. In some implementations, processing may beemployed to change the gate of an actor (embodied by their avatar) so asto obscure the fact that one actor is performing multiple roles. Thisprocessing may be employed to change the gate, speed, or angles ofmovement, or other visual characteristics. Such may be particularlyimportant as gate is a clear indicator of identity, even if users areunaware of their use of the same in this context.

The ability to traverse instantaneously is provided by the actor being“virtual”, either using a CG avatar or using a video of the actor. Ofcourse, in situations where a video of the actor is employed, theportions of the actor that are provided in the video can generally notbe quickly changed. In other words, if the entirety of an actor's bodyis provided in a video image, that actor generally cannot changecostumes as quickly as an actor using a CG avatar can change avatars.But, in some implementations, the body of the actor may provide ananchor and different (separate) avatars may be superposed atop theanchor body so as to allow the actor to appear to have differentcostumes on (as well as different heads and/or faces), therebyportraying different characters or avatars. In the case of a hauntedattraction, the face, hands, and general body shape may be maintained,but the clothing may be changed from one type of character to another,e.g., a vampire to an undertaker. Various filters may be applied toallow the appearance of the face to change as well, e.g., from a palevampire to a hairy werewolf or a decomposing zombie. Of course in othercases the entire CG rig and/or underlying character avatar body may bechanged for each different action pocket, or according to the needs ofthe interaction or maze experience.

Timing of Actor Interaction

As noted above, a characteristic distance may be associated from atrigger area (or volume) to the location of an actor. Thischaracteristic distance may in turn be associated with the time fromwhich a patron or group of patrons activates a trigger to the time atwhich an actor is to perform an interaction with the patron or group ofpatrons. In the case of a haunted attraction, several users may pass atrigger area, and the trigger may be employed to notify the scare actorthat the group of patrons is soon to pass the scare pocket, and thus thescare actor should prepare himself or herself to jump out from the scarepocket to provide the interaction, e.g., the scare. The characteristicdistance may be associated with a characteristic time for thispreparation, with an analogy of the well-known formula characteristictime=characteristic distance/characteristic speed or velocity. Here thecharacteristic speed or velocity can be, e.g., the speed of the fastestmoving patron, the speed of the slowest moving patron, an average speedof all the patrons, a speed of a defined area 115 that the patrons aretraveling on, via a “rail”, or various other speeds.

For example, if the scare actor 112 desires to scare the first patron toarrive adjacent the scare pocket 117 a, the actor may use (using asetting provided either by the operator of the attraction or on theactor interface described below) the speed of the fastest patron. If theactor wanted to scare the last patron to arrive, the actor may use thespeed of the slowest patron (again using a setting as described above).If the actor wanted to scare the patrons in the middle of the group, heor she may use a mean or average speed. Of course it will be understoodby one of ordinary skill in the art that the term “patron” above isintended to mean the avatar of the patron within the virtual commonenvironment. In some cases patrons will not have an avatar, but willsimply have a view of the common environment via a camera, e.g., apatron camera, which can either be provided for each individual patronor one mutual camera can be provided for all patrons. In either case, anindication may be provided, e.g., via the video feed on the actorinterface, of the location of the camera, e.g., relative to the actionpocket, such that the actor knows where to direct the action of theactor avatar. Put another way, and in the case of a haunted attraction,the scare actor needs to know where the patrons are so that he or sheknows where to direct the scare.

Other examples will also be understood given this teaching. For example,a particular actor may be employed to interact with multiple customersin a group by performing an interaction once (e.g., in the case of ahaunted attraction, a jump scare) but having the interaction beduplicated and displaced (using the CG system and performing atranslation and displacement (and in some cases rotation) of thedisplayed action) so that the interaction appears to be facing eachpatron (avatar or camera) rather than only one. In this way, eachcustomer gets a benefit of the interaction directly to themselves ratherthan just seeing the avatar of the actor address the group as a whole.In some cases this may require processing to change the speed, if any,with which the actor avatar approaches the group, so that the avatarapproaches, is incident, or impinges on each patron avatar at the sametime. Of course, not every interaction benefits from this. However, inthe case of a scare interaction of a haunted attraction, it may behighly beneficial and enjoyable to have the scare directed at eachcustomer, as that increases the scare level and thus the enjoyment. Ofcourse, to allow the same to not become predictable, a random numbergenerator may be employed to determine which patron avatar the scare isdirected at. Combinations of the above and other features are alsopossible and will be understood.

It will be understood that the position of the avatar of the scare actormay be translated not only within the plane of the maze to address aparticular patron but further may be translated out of the plane (up ordown) of the maze such that the actor's avatar can appear to be talleror shorter than each user's avatar (or if the patron is not employing anavatar, the height of the camera causing the view for the patron). Inthe case of a haunted attraction, it is common to desire the monster toappear higher or towering over the patron's eye level to increase theamount of fear induced.

In addition, it is noted that there may be limitations on the extent towhich actor avatar location may be displaced or translated (or rotated)so as to appear to each patron individually. In particular, there may beprops which are part of the interaction that cannot similarly be movedwithout appearing unphysical to the user, thereby breaking theimmersion. For example, an actor avatar may be a crazed doctor behind aoperating table. The operating table may be a fixed location prop;accordingly, a restraint may be placed on the translation ordisplacement of the actor avatar, such that the same remains behind theoperating table (though some movement per patron may still beaccomplished).

GUI (or Actor Interface) for Customer Interaction

As noted above, it is an advantage of systems and methods according topresent principles that a single actor may be employed to providemultiple actor/patron interactions, even at far-flung virtual distancesbetween points in a virtual maze. But this functionality requires thatthe actor know when to appear at a particular action pocket.

FIG. 8 thus illustrates an exemplary user interface 20 which may beemployed to notify the actor of when upcoming interactions should occur.FIG. 8 illustrates a vertically-sorted list of groups of patrons. In theactor interface 20, a group of three icons 220 represents one group ofpatrons having three members, a single icon 222 represents a singlepatron going through the maze individually, and the icon 224 representstwo friends going through the maze together. In alternativeimplementations, the actor interface may have icons that do not indicatethe number of patrons. That is, in some cases an icon of one person willbe shown no matter whether it represents one patron or several. But inmany cases multiple patrons will traverse a maze together, and in thesesituations multiple icons may be displayed, one for each patron, and thevisualization may either be of the patron's avatar or of the patron himor herself if such an image is available.

Various character or avatar notes may be provided for each interaction,so that the actor can remind themselves of what sort of character theyare playing (that is in turn visualized by the actor avatar). These areindicated by notes 244, 246, and 248. For example, if the actor isplaying a werewolf 246, they may be reminded of this and thus inherently(or even explicitly, by another note) be reminded to growl instead of tospeak (as noted below, voice modulation may also be employed to manuallyor automatically adjust the actor's voice).

An indication may be provided of which maze experience or themedattraction the patron is going through, and these are shown by indicator234 and the like, e.g., Themed Attraction A, Zone 1 (e.g., correspondingto action or scare pocket 115 a). A live camera view may be shown toshow or indicate the patron or group of patrons as they approach theaction pocket, and these are indicated by sections 258, 262, and 264.These camera views may be advantageously selected to provide a view fromthe action pocket to the trigger, so as to allow the actor to see thepatrons as they approach the action pocket.

Other notes may also be provided, e.g., with sections 236, 238, and 242,as to a level of interaction. A low level of interaction in the case ofa haunted attraction may mean that the user only wants to be frighteneda little. A high level of interaction may mean that the actor should“pull out the stops” and act in such a way so as to provide or deliveras much scare as possible. As will be described below, this may includeemployment of haptic forces.

Party notes may be provided to give the actor an indication ofadditional details about the party, e.g., group of patrons, and such areindicated by party notes 226, 228, and 232. This may allow the actor totailor a particular interaction according to details about the party, soas to increase the overall enjoyment of the patrons.

Each grouping of elements 220 (patron images or patron avatar images),234, 226, 236, 244, 258, and 252 (described below) constitutes an“entry”, and these entries may be automatically instantiated when eachpatron or group of patrons (more correctly, their avatars) reaches thetrigger area. It will be understood that the trigger area may bepreceded by a pre-trigger area, to give additional warning as to thesoon-to-be impingement, incidence, or arrival of patrons (patronavatars) at the action pocket.

In FIG. 8 the entry corresponding to “Themed Attraction A—Zone 1” hasbeen sorted to be at the top, and this may be where the actor looksfirst when determining where will be the next interaction to bedelivered. This “next interaction” may be made more prominent by adifferent color, and enlargement of the overall entry on the actorinterface, and so on.

The sorting of the entries may be on various bases, but a useful type ofsort will be an automatic sort based on characteristic time as describedabove, sorted from low to high. In other words, the patrons that theactor will have to perform for first are located at the top of the list,and the rest of the list may be sorted by increasing characteristictimes. Colors may also be employed such as the red, yellow, and greenbuttons shown, i.e., buttons 252, 254, and 256, as mentioned above. Thebuttons shown are provided with the word “GO!” because it is throughselection/activation of these buttons that the actor may be caused tooccupy and control an avatar within or associated with the actionpocket, e.g., may be caused to occupy and control avatar 112 withinscare pocket 117 a (in the case of a haunted attraction). Once the actoractivates the button and controls avatar 112, the actor may provide theinteraction to the patrons, e.g., may jump out and scare the patrons inan area of the maze adjacent the action pocket (or within the same, or acombination), and then may back away back into the action pocket 117 a.The avatar controlled by the actor may also be caused to just disappear,but as this is an unphysical sort of display (not occurring in areal-life haunted attraction), it tends to reduce immersion. But oncethe avatar of the actor is back into the scare pocket or otherwise nolonger visible to the patron or patrons (which may also be accomplishedby way of a fadeout), the actor may activate a button (either physical(e.g. on a controller) or in a UI viewable when they are embodying andcontrolling the avatar 112) and may then view the UI 20 again, e.g., toprepare for the next patron interaction, e.g., that within themedAttraction B as illustrated. As noted in the description with regard toFIG. 7B, the button 169 may be employed for this purpose. This buttonmay also be activated even when the actor is not in the action pocket.

In an alternative implementation, rather than having the actor have toactivate a button to get back to the user interface, only to have topush another button to move on to the next interaction, the actor may becaused to automatically go from one interaction to the next. To providethe most possible time for each interaction, the transition to the nextinteraction may be held off as long as possible, e.g., until such timeas the next interaction is about to occur, or is about to occur within apredetermined timeframe, e.g., five seconds, 10 seconds, and so on.

To allow the actor to receive the necessary information for the nextinteraction, a UI within the actor system 140, e.g., which may be adesktop system or a VR/AR system, may provide a heads up display (HUD)with the necessary information, e.g., which attraction, what kind ofpatron, level of scare, and so on.

In many cases it is preferable that such occur by way of a HUD becausethe actor, in order to perform the necessary interactions, may likely bestanding and away from a desktop or laptop display. Of course, a displaymay be mounted on the wall or at other convenient location to allow theactor to quickly see which interaction is coming up next. If on thewall, the actor may employ an AR HMD to allow themselves to see the walldisplay (or desktop monitor) as well as provide some visualization ofthe patron's avatars who are about to enter the area adjacent the actionpocket, such that the actor knows the precise time in which to deliverthe interaction, e.g., scare.

Besides the preprogrammed or intended avatars and intensities planned bythe operator and programmed into the system, the actor may be employedvia the actor interface 22 modify their avatar, the intensity, as wellas to perform certain preprogrammed actions. To accomplish this, acustom intensity section 266 may be employed, where the actor can adjustthe intensity using buttons 268, 272, and 274, so as to change theintensity to either high, medium, or low. As noted elsewhere, this mayaccomplish a change of avatar, volume, type of audio, whether hapticsare included, and so on. A custom avatar section 276 may be employed toprovide buttons 278, 282, and 284, showing labels which are simplyexemplary, so as to allow the actor to take on a particular avatar look,even if the same is not intended according to a program of the maze.This custom avatar functionality may be employed to allow interactionsto occur out of sequence if necessary to accommodate unexpected patronmovements, or to just provide a level of unexpectedness to the mazeencounter. Preprogrammed action buttons 279 and 281 may be employed toperform commonly performed actions, so that the actor need not actuallyphysically perform them each time. As may be seen, these include a jumpfunctionality, which is typically a visual action, as well as a screamfunctionality, which is an audio function. Particularly where actors aregoing from action pocket to action pocket continuously, havingpreprogrammed actions may help to save the actor's energy and voice, asthe actor need only push a button rather than perform the actionphysically. In some cases the performance of these actions by theprocessor may be provided with a degree of randomness, e.g., the actionspeed or exact appearance may vary, so as to not appear to be operatedon a program.

Devices employed by the actor are described in greater detail above andbelow, but here it is noted that the same may be a VR/AR headset 146with an appropriate associated display and computing environment.Generally controllers 148 will be needed such that hand movements (andthus arm and upper body movements as well, generally) may be inferredand displayed to the patron, or these may be visualized by an associatedcamera 163, either mounted on the headset 146 or placed externally. Ingeneral what is needed on the actor side is some way to capture themotion of the actor, either in a CG fashion or in a fashion that allowsvideo capture, e.g., with the use of a green screen and camera usingsystem 165 (see FIG. 7B).

In certain cases the level of interaction, which is generally set by auser or the user's representative in an introduction screen, may beemployed to automatically adjust avatar appearance, volume of soundheard by the patron, and so on, so that the actor need not make suchadjustments himself or herself. For example, in the case of a hauntedattraction, a scary-but-cartoonish avatar may be employed for patronsdesiring low levels of interaction, a scary but more realistic avatarmay be employed for patrons desiring a medium level of interaction, anda gory and scary avatar may be employed for patrons desiring a highlevel of interaction. For patrons desiring extreme levels ofinteraction, haptic forces as well as a gory and scary avatar mayfurther be employed. Where multiple patrons form a group and requestdifferent levels of interaction, that of the lowest level may be used,or in other cases different levels may be provided to different patrons,all based on the same actor action by having the levels of interactionbe automatically adjusted for each patron according to their inputsetting.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary introductory screen 30 such that a useror patron may enter certain settings to be followed during the mazeexperience. Here the user may be enabled to enter a username 286 (whichmay be displayed above their avatar or used in a separate chat screen),payment information 288, the desired intensity via a set of buttons 292,an indication as to whether they desire strobe effects 294, as well as aform 296 to enter usernames of friends, so that a party can be formed.

And while the visual appearance of the actor avatar has been describedabove, it will be understood that audio emanating from the avatar(generally using 3D sound and with the audio source of the sound locatedat the location of the actor avatar, and the game object of the audiosource may be located as a child object of the game object representingthe avatar or other avatar rig) may similarly be graduated to performvarious functionality. For example, the volume may be adjusted accordingto the level of interaction desired. In some cases, the sound may bemodulated to raise or lower the pitch of the actor's voice, to appear tochange the gender of the same or to provide scary sound effects such asare known in the field of audio effects. In this way, the actor need notoverly stress their voice in trying to convey certain effects, e.g., ascream in the case of an interaction in a haunted attraction.

It will be understood that in alternative implementations the actorinterface may be such that the future patrons are displayedhorizontally. Again such may be automatically sorted by time toappearance, which may be calculated as the amount of time remainingbefore the patron or group of patrons (i.e., their avatars) present atthe action pocket, which may be in part based on the distance betweenthe action pocket and the trigger area, as well as the speed in whichthe patrons are traveling. This “amount of time remaining” is referredto in some implementations as a “characteristic time”. In addition, theactor interface may also indicate the type of device employed by thepatron, e.g., whether they are employing a VR or AR headset, or whetherthey are employing using non-headmounted devices.

ENVIRONMENT VISUALIZATION Computer Generated (CG)

Another maze experience 210 is illustrated in a top view in FIG. 10,this one intended to illustrate a maze that is computer-generated. Thesame has an entrance 211, and an exit 213. Action pockets are shown,including pockets 215 a-215 e and a trigger area 221 a. A group ofpatrons' avatars 214 is illustrated. What is not illustrated but will beunderstood is that each may employ virtual cameras to provide cameraviews of the CG maze. There may be one camera each, or they may each usethe same camera, which may be termed a group camera. These are generallynot actual cameras, but rather virtual cameras created by the system,e.g., server 131, or by the user computing environment, or by acombination. A single patron avatar 212 is also illustrated at anotherpoint in the maze (this avatar not being part of patron group 214). Afurther patron 216 is illustrated by a camera only, and here it is notedthat patrons need not necessarily have an avatar associated therewith.If they do not have an avatar, they will generally be provided with somesort of mesh by the system so that the actor knows the location of thecamera, and thus knows where to direct the interaction.

FIG. 10 also illustrates element 211, which is a video scene superposedatop the CG maze. Element 213 is an audio source, and the same may bethe audio source used by the actor, particularly as the same is adjacentthe action pocket 215 a.

It is further noted that each element in this maze experience orenvironment may be kept track of by the associated computingenvironments including the server 131 by the use of game objects. Forexample, each avatar within the group pictured in 214 may be a gameobject, and each game object may be composed of multiple child gameobjects. Even empty game objects may be employed, although such oftenare employed to group together nonempty game objects. For example, anempty game object of “walls” may be employed to group together all ofthe game objects that form the walls of the maze. Game objects mayfurther include menus and UI elements.

A CG environment is generally of a natural or man-made structure, e.g.,a haunted house, corn maze, old hospital, or the like. But it can alsobe a CG re-creation of a person's locale, e.g., the home of thecustomer. Such can be created at runtime using cameras coupled to theHMD, for example, or such can also be created ahead of time, using knownarchitectural visualization/digitization techniques. Proceduralgeneration may also be employed, at runtime.

In more detail, CG environments may also be procedurally-generated, suchthat the same are generated shortly before a patron enters them. Suchmay be created before the patron or patrons begin a maze, or portions ofthe maze may even be created while the patron or patrons are in anearlier part of the maze, e.g., “on-the-fly”. In some cases, someoperators may desire that a patron or group of patrons take a constantamount of time to traverse an overall maze, e.g., 15 minutes, 20minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, an hour, and so on. In some casesthough, patrons may vary in the speed in which they traverse the maze.In this case, procedural generation can lengthen or shorten the maze, toensure that the patrons complete the maze in the desired time. In analternative embodiment, the set time duration to traverse the maze maybe based on the price paid for admission.

A portion of a procedurally-generated maze is illustrated by the maze310 of FIG. 11. At the point seen in the figure, the maze has anentrance 311, and a group of patrons' avatars 314 are about to interact(or have their collider(s) interact) with trigger area (or volume) 321a. This may then cause the instantiation of an entry on the actorinterface employed by an actor, and upon appropriate activation of alink, the actor avatar may be instantiated within the action pocket 315a. But as this maze is procedurally-generated, it is only a smallportion beyond the action pocket 315 a that is actually created. Thissection is procedurally-generated section 320 with boundaries 323 and325. The procedural generation can take place at various times, e.g., asection may be created whenever a patron or group of patrons encountersa trigger point, constantly over time, or the procedural generation canalso be dependent on the speed of patron travel. Other ways to determinethe speed of procedural generation will also be understood. As noted,procedural generation may be employed in some cases to allow a certainlevel of control over the amount of time a patron takes to traverse themaze. For example, a user's admission ticket may be good for a one hourmaze. Procedural generation can be employed to ensure that the maze endsat the one hour mark. It will be understood that procedural generationwould provide not only generation of maze environments but also triggerareas, action pockets or other actor instantiation points, nonplayercharacter (NPC) creation, such as monsters in the case of a hauntedattraction, and the like. Such may be in turn employed to cause theinstantiation of an entry on the actor interface.

In some cases, where a maze represents an actual locale, if the user isphysically in the locale, the maze may be CG generated, or may have CGelements displayed on an AR HMD (more on this embodiment below), but thepatron may traverse the same by physically walking through the actuallocale and having the movements translated into movements in the CGversion of the locale. In this case, it may be convenient tooccasionally (e.g., every two minutes, five minutes, 10 minutes, and soon) operate the camera on the HMD for a short period of time (e.g., onesecond, five seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, and so on) so as to allowa degree of calibration or alignment to occur between the CG mazeenvironment represented in the computing environment, headset, server,or a combination, and the actual physical environment. This is becauseover time, HMD tracking may slip to a certain extent, and become notfaithfully representative of the actual locale of the user. In a VRsetting, this is problematic because such is the only view the user hastheir surroundings. If the slipped tracking no longer faithfullyrepresents the surroundings, e.g., has shifted due to incorrect orinaccurate tracking, the user may end up running into a wall or trippingover furniture. Thus it may be important to occasionally operate thecamera to allow a resynchronization/recalibration to occur.

Actual or Real

The environment may also be actual or real, and data pertaining to suchan actual or real environment would generally be video data that isdisplayed within the HMD, particularly if the same is VR. An actualenvironment may also be portrayed or displayed in an AR HMD, as notedabove, however, in many cases the same is superfluous as AR glassesalready allow a visualization with perfect fidelity of an exteriorenvironment. However, in some cases, the user may only have AR glassesbut wish to be immersed in a different environment. In this case, the ARglasses may substantially act as VR glasses, and block out as much aspossible of the scene other than certain elements within the scenedesired to be visualized and displayed.

As noted, the environment may be actual or real, and in this case videodata is displayed within the HMD. CG elements may be displayed atop orsuperimposed on top of the video data, and thus may serve the purpose ofadorning the video environment so as to make the same appear more suitedto the performances or interactions. For example, such adornments mayconstitute assets superimposed on the video so as to change the view ofthe displayed scene, e.g., changing a house to a haunted house, changinga hallway to a scary hospital hallway, and so on.

Where the environment is actual or real, patron movements within theenvironment have to be detected and represented. In some cases, if thepatron has a large empty space available, or is within the re-createdlocale, the patron may walk and have their movements translated intomovements in the actual or real environment. For example, the actual orreal environment may be an environment portrayed by a video feed of ahouse, decorated, either physically or in CG, to be a haunted house. Thepatron may visualize a video of the haunted house, even though they arestanding in a regular house or elsewhere, e.g., in a large open sectionof their driveway. Patron movements may be translated into movements inthe haunted house. In some cases the movements may be one-to-one, whereif the user moves 1 foot in the driveway they also move 1 foot in thehaunted house. Alternatively, the user may be caused to move more orless then their accompanying and associated physical movements in thephysical space. In another embodiment, the user may employ a joystick orother controller to facilitate movement. In yet other embodiments,accelerometers may be employed to detect movement, or other sensors suchas may be employed on a, e.g., multidirectional treadmill.

To visualize what the user is seeing in the actual or real environment,various techniques may be employed. In one, if the actual or realenvironment is available for physical occupation, a camera on a robot,controlled by the joystick or user movement, may move through the actualor real environment, causing the change of view. Real or virtual actorsmay then perform to the robot. If real, the actor simply acts as if thepatron were at the location of the robot or camera attached thereto. Ifvirtual, either CG or a video representation, the visual datacorresponding to the actor is overlaid atop or superimposed upon thecamera view of the environment.

As noted, various CG elements may be employed to “dress up” the actualor real environment, to increase the sense of user immersion. Other waysof visualizing what the user is seeing in the actual or realenvironment, particularly as the view changes due to user movement, isthrough the use of light field cameras. A light field camera that hasimaged a volume such as a room allows a faithful and true re-creation ofa view from one or more other points in the room. Put another way, useof a light field camera allows a general or arbitrary view from a pointin the room, such as a point chosen by a user through user movement oruse of a joystick, to be re-created. In some cases, if a user moves intoanother room, another light field camera image can be subsequentlyloaded into memory and used for portrayal of the view in the room forthe user. In the event that a more “traditional” 4pi steradian or 360degree or 180 degree camera is employed, the user may still experience asense of immersion as they traverse through the maze, but it will be asif the user or patron is on a “rail”, such that they can move along therail but not in arbitrary locations within the room off of or away fromthe rail such allows 3-dof but not 6-dof movement, as described below.Of course, it will be understood that even in such “traditional”situations, multiple rails may be provided with appropriate branchingpoints such that the user may move from one rail onto another using anappropriate user interface in their display, e.g., their AR or VR HMD orcomputer display, or using an appropriate user interaction caused by a acontroller, keyboard, mouse, or the like.

FIG. 12 illustrates a real or actual maze 410. The real maze 410 is anactual physical area, though CG elements may be employed as have beendescribed. The maze 410 has an entrance 411 and an exit 413. A user 412is pictured, at the entrance of the maze. After traversing the path 414,the user's avatar 412 will collide with trigger area 421 a, which asnoted will set in motion processing that will result in, at some point,an actor avatar 411 instantiating within the action pocket 415 a. Otheraction pockets 415 b-415 e are also illustrated. An element 417 isshown, which is a CG element superimposed atop the real maze.

The real maze 410 may be imaged either directly, in video, or as a CGcreation/construction or reconstruction. The same is generally displayedto the user using an associated HMD, e.g., a VR or AR HMD, or otherdisplay. FIG. 12 also illustrates an actual physical camera 416 operatedunder control of a robot that is negotiating the real maze 410 undercontrol of a user. In other implementations, the user 412 can locomoteeither physically or virtually. If the user 412 is employing a VR or ARheadset and locomoting physically through the locale, then the localeinterior can be viewed actually (using AR glasses), as a CGreconstruction, or as a video feed. Other details are described above.If the user is locomoting virtually, then the user may or may not beembodied by an avatar, and in this case traversing the interior of thelocale can occur in a number of ways. These are described in connectionwith Table I and throughout this specification.

In particular, Table I is an exemplary non-limiting list of varioustypes of maze experiences along with corresponding type of environmentsand locomotion schemes. In the case of a virtual maze, which may be CGgenerated or video generated or both, generally no physical locale ispresent to actually traverse through, though the virtual maze can bebased on a real place. However, there is generally no capture of thevisual data about the place taking place in real time by the userwalking through it. Layout data may still be obtained, however. In thisregard it is noted that a common reason to have a real (also termedphysical or actual) maze is so the user or a camera can walk orotherwise traverse through it. Generally or in many cases, if the user(either physically or via a real or physical camera) is not physicallywalking or otherwise traversing through the maze, it may reduce to thecase above of a virtual maze, and this case is discussed above. Andgenerally, if the user is traversing the the maze, the user through anAR glass or camera or other such sensor (directly through AR goggles orindirectly through a video feed or realtime CG reconstruction) isreceiving visual or layout data from the physical maze itself, in realtime, as they are walking or traversing. The visual data may be of ahallway, room, field, and so on. Layout data may be data correspondingto location data, e.g., where the user is in the physical maze. Thisdata may be generated entirely by the headset in the case of simplyaccelerometer data, or may be combined with other sensors, such ascameras or GPS or using monitoring of other locomotion data describedherein. Generally, a purpose for traversing an actual locale but havingthe entirety (or most thereof) of the structure replaced with CG orvideo elements is that the user may desire that their locale, e.g.,house or apartment, be the environment for a maze experience, but theymay desire that the entirety of their house or apartment be replacedwith experience-suitable decor. Thus, a hallway of a house may bereplaced with a hallway of a castle. A bedroom may be replaced with athrone room, and so on. In this way, if the user brushes up against awall in real life, they will also brush up against a wall in the mazeexperience, thus significantly increasing the immersion.

Actor Visualization Video

If a video of an actor is to be employed in the situation of a video ofan actual or real or physical attraction or maze, in which the actor isphysically in the maze, then no green screen is needed, as generally thevideo of the actor captures the video of the maze, or vice versa. Inother implementations, the actor may be filmed separately, e.g., with agreen screen. In other words, if the video of the actor is to beemployed where the actor is outside of the attraction, then it maybecome necessary to use a green screen so as to extract the video of theactor from the remainder of the scene.

If video is used for either purpose, i.e., for either the maze or theactor (though more commonly the maze), then a light field camera may beemployed to allow and enable the creation of the image (video image) ofthe scene, so as to allow arbitrary perspectives for the user. Inparticular, the light field camera may be employed to allow and enablethe creation of the portion of the image created in video, which maythen be superposed on any or all CG portions of the image, or viceversa. For the avoidance of confusion, here it is noted that the cameravisualizing the maze for the customer need not be a light field camera,necessarily. It may be a camera such as a 180 or 360° camera, or thelike, mounted on a robot controlled by the customer in real time, or itmay be a 180 or 360° camera, or the like, that has been caused to movethrough the maze so as to capture initial visualization data, in whichcase the same is said to be operating (thereafter) on a virtual “rail”,as described above, because its path is thereafter predefined to be thatof its initial capture journey. However, in the case where prior videofootage is employed, e.g., where a visualization of an actual maze iscreated but then this actual maze is not accessed again for real-timepatron usage, then the use of a light field camera to obtain the priorvideo footage of the maze may be employed to allow the faithfulre-creation of an image of this maze from any angle or location. Thisfacility then allows the user to move around the interior of the mazeand to see an accurate representation of the interior from any arbitraryangle or from any vantage point, again substantially increasingimmersion.

Digitization Three Degrees of Freedom

Some early VR headsets allow only three degrees of freedom (“3-dof”),and thus allow rotations of an actor's head to be portrayed, but nottranslations or longitudinal/transverse movements thereof. While lessimmersive for the user, such may still be employed to provide some levelof interaction, e.g., scares, particularly where the actor does not needto approach or appear to come closer to the user or patron as part ofthe interaction. Longitudinal or transverse movements may still beaccomplished by way of the actor using a joystick or other technique inwhich longitudinal or transverse motion data may be entered into thesystem employed by the actor. It is noted that what is being discussedhere is the headset worn by the actor, in some implementations, to allowmovement of the actor's head, to allow the actor to move towards thepatron as part of the interaction. The user similarly may also bewearing a VR or AR headset, to increase their immersion, but such isunrelated to the use of a headset on the actor to detect actor headmovements and translate the same into movements of the actors avatar aspart of the interaction. But similarly, a user employing a 3-dof headsetmay rotate their angle of view about three axes, but generally cannotmove their head view relative to the location of the view in atransverse or longitudinal direction, without a separate movement systemor means, e.g., a controller with a joystick. In the same way, when theview is from a virtual camera on a rail, such movements are generallyprohibited unless multiple rails are provided. It is noted that 3-dofheadsets may also employ controllers for use by each of the user'shands, and such may be employed not only for input but also to visualizethe user's hands. Alternatively, cameras may be employed to visualizethe user's hands. In either case, the controllers may be worn to allowinputs by the actor into the actor interface described elsewhere.

Six Degrees of Freedom

Newer VR headsets generally allow for six degrees of freedom (“6-dof”).In this case, longitudinal and transverse movements in three dimensionscan also be detected and portrayed as actor movements, along with thethree axes of rotation of a 3-dof system. As noted above, controllers orcameras (either external or mounted to the headset) can be employed toimage hands and cause the display of user hands. 6-dof can also implyupper body movement, because if the head is moving, it is generallymoving at least the upper body in a predictable and representabledirection, i.e., moving the head often involves moving the upper bodyalong with it. Exemplary lower body movements can be implied based onupper body movements, although such are generally somewhat moredisconnected and unrelated from the movements of the upper body. Forparticularly advantageous motion capture however, suits imaging theentire body or a portion of the body may be employed to more faithfullycapture the movements of the actor, and allow a particularlyadvantageous representation of actor movement as a corresponding avatarmovement for the display and enjoyment of the patron or patrons. In somecases, controllers may be used for hands and upper body, and othermotion tracking may be employed for the lower body, e.g., through motiontracking shoes or other lower body articles of clothing. In this way theentire body can be motion tracked.

In addition, while it is noted that cameras may be employed to visualizethe controllers or user hands or portions of bodies or even entirebodies, other sensors may also be employed for this purpose,particularly including accelerometer sensors, e.g. for the detection ofrelative movements (movements relative to an initial position, but whereabsolute positions in space may in some cases remain unknown).

Patron/User/Customer Movement

Users can move under actual movement if enabled under 6-dof, or they canuse a joystick. In the first case, users may walk through a large openspace, and their movements can be recorded by cameras and employed tocause movement in an associated CG space or environment, which is alsotermed a “common environment” if multiple users are involved. Instead ofa large open space in which the user traverses, alternatively, amultidirectional treadmill may be employed. The cameras may either beexternal to the user within the space, or the cameras may be mounted onthe HMD and detect relative movement and use the same to causecorresponding movement in the CG environment. Where a multidirectionaltreadmill is employed, the degree and direction of movement may also bedrawn from sensors in the treadmill, from a pedometer worn by the user,from cameras imaging gait, and so on. Where a joystick is employed tocause movement, patrons may be stationary, seated, and the action of theuser-operated joystick may cause the movement to appear in the CG space.Additional details are described in Table I.

A group of customers can be slowly automatically moved through a desiredpath (on a ‘rail’) so as to ensure throughput thru the maze. Even if ona rail, the users may be enabled to move locally (such as within adefined area) while the defined area is moved along the rail or othersuch predefined path. Thus, users can move within the defined area butcan be prohibited from moving off of the defined area. In some cases,customers can be prohibited from backward movement so as to not causeissues with the actor trigger system described elsewhere. That is, itmay be generally desired in some embodiments that users approach actorsfrom a particular direction, and a user moving backwards may end upapproaching the action pocket before hitting the trigger, and in thiscase the actor may be unprepared for any interaction. In addition, it iswell known in haunted attractions that it is desired to “scare thepatrons forward”, through the maze, rather than backwards, where theymay encounter other patrons.

Where a defined area is moved along a rail at a particular pace, theoperator of the themed attraction or maze may be enabled to almost “dialin” how much revenue is desired, and may simply move patrons along at aspeed that allows a certain rate of revenue to be received on a per houror per day basis. For example, in one calculation:

$\begin{matrix}{{{Dollar\_ Revenue}\text{/}{hour}} = {{\$ Admission\_ Price}*{Customers}\text{/}{hour}}} \\{= {{\$ Admission\_ Price}*\left( {R\text{/}D} \right)*{\sum N_{i}}}}\end{matrix}$

Where R is the speed of the defined area, D is the length of the maze,and N_(i) are the number of patrons in each group. The sum is over allof the groups in a particular hour.

EXAMPLES VR Haunted Attraction

Similar to that displayed in FIG. 7A, a maze may be created usingcomputer graphics and known 3D modeling techniques, and so-called scareactors may be situated within scare pockets to jump out and scarepatrons as patrons traverse through the maze. The actors may be notifiedof when patrons are arriving by way of the trigger areas describedabove. One actor may be enabled to jump between multiple scare pocketsso as to allow that one actor (or a subset of actors using multipleactor interfaces) to provide multiple interactions within the maze. Theone actor may employ different avatars, however, to change theirappearance and thus make it appear that it is different avatars that areappearing in each action pocket. Moreover, while typically a scare actorwould employ their own voice, such may be modulated (or not) to furtherallow the actor/avatar to appear differently than they did before. Forexample, an actor's voice may be modulated down to approximate zombiegroans or modulated up to sound more like a “bride of Frankenstein”character.

AR Home Haunt

In some implementations this example may provide the most intensescares. A user has AR glasses (also variously termed herein as gogglesor a headset or an HMD) and traverses their home, while the systemanalyzes the view of the interior of the home for the presence of doors,hallways, cabinets, alcoves, or the like. Being based on a video feedfrom the viewpoint of the user, such are detected from the standpoint ofthe user or customer. Such may then be analyzed as being potentiallocations for patron/actor interactions, e.g., scares, at least from theaspect of a jump scare or startle scare. The system may detect theseareas, create a virtual scare pocket, and the avatar of the actor may becaused to occupy the virtual scare pocket, i.e. may be caused toinstantiate within the action or scare pocket using the actor interface,such that the actor avatar is not visible from the standpoint of thecamera representing the viewpoint of the patron (e.g., patron's avatar).When the patron is adjacent or near the virtual scare pocket, and someimplementations having activated a trigger in a trigger area or volume,the actor may cause the avatar to emerge therefrom in a sudden fashion,scaring the patron.

OTHER, INCLUDING HAPTICS, SOUND, AND PROGRAMMED ACTIONS

Besides the patron, user, or customer visualizing the actions of theactor as portrayed by a video or a CG avatar, the user or customer may“feel” the actions using forces or vibration from a haptic device suchas a haptic glove, haptic vest or haptic bodysuit. A certain level ofhaptic forces or other interactions can be enabled on, e.g., VR or ARcontrollers or a game controller. This can increase the level ofimmersion somewhat, and the use of a haptic device such as a vest orbodysuit can increase the level of immersion even more. Appropriatepermissions may be provided by the user or customer upon signing up forthe themed attraction so as to provide permission (or not) for theactor's movements to cause transmission of haptic feedback or hapticmotions through the haptic device. In certain cases, if desired, thepatrons may be enabled to cause haptic forces on the actors, if theactor is similarly provided with a haptic device.

Sound and lighting are key features of many performances, includinghaunted attractions, and the same may be adjusted to either increase ordecrease the scare level. For example, additional lighting may beemployed to reduce a scare level. Strobe lights or other effects may beturned off as part of the user introductory settings interface in orderto reduce the deleterious effects such may have on causing seizures orthe like.

As noted with regard to buttons 279 in 281 of FIG. 8, certain actions ofthe actor's avatars can be preprogrammed in the sense that the actorneed only push a button to cause a particular visual or audio effect,e.g., a popping of the eyes or a scream or a jumping movement. However,in most cases it is desired to have some personal human movement behindthe actor, even if just the choice of when to cause such actions, sothat the patron is always aware of the unpredictable nature, thussignificantly increasing the scare factor.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart of a general method of the invention. Ina first step, a server may be operated to communicate with the usercomputing environment coupled to a first display which generates acamera view with a maze environment (step 422). The server may then beoperated to receive initial settings data as well as locomotion datafrom the user computing environment, and the server may use the same tocontrol user actions within the environment (step 424). The environmentmay be termed a common environment if multiple users are employed. Theserver may then be operated, in an optional step, to receive locale datafrom the user, and to process the locale data to determine locations ofpotential action pockets (step 426). Based on this data, an actionpocket may be instantiated as a game object.

In yet another optional step, the server may be operated toautomatically modify interaction intensity based on user-enteredsettings, and may further modify the environment based on the samesettings (step 428). Actors may be enabled to modify these levels aswell, using the actor interface or other such.

In yet a further optional step, the server may be operated toprocedurally generate subsequent portions of the maze while the patronsare traversing earlier portions of the maze (step 432). This step mayinclude optionally modifying the procedural generation to accomplishgoals including maintaining a relatively constant amount of time forpatron traversal of the entire maze experience.

In yet another step, the server may be operated to communicate with anactor computing environment coupled to an actor display, which isconfigured to generate an actor interface that provides one or morelinks wherein an actor activating the link may access and control anactor avatar (step 434). The actor avatar may be situated initially inan action pocket within the environment. The actor interface may furtherdisplay one or more entries, each entry corresponding to a patron orgroup of patrons.

In a next step, a particular entry may be instantiated based on when auser game object associated with the user computing environmentinteracts with a trigger within the environment (step 436). For example,if a patron avatar (game object) having a mesh or other collidercomponent is detected to collide with a volume representing a triggervolume, then the entry may be instantiated on the actor interface.

The server may be operated to receive actor actions, including handmovements, and to translate the same into avatar actions, including bothvisual actions and sounds (step 438). For example, these actions may becaused by the actor and may cause the actor avatar to, e.g., jump out ofthe action or scare pocket to scare patrons. In yet another step, theentries in the actor interface may be automatically sorted bycharacteristic time, which may be a time associated with a timeremaining before a particular actor is to interact with a particularpatron or group of patrons (step 442).

Other Aspects

Various terms have been employed in this description with adjectivessuch as “real”, “actual”, “virtual”, “physical”, “nonphysical”, and thelike. Generally, terms such as real and actual and physical refer toitems, structures, buildings, cameras, and so on, that exist in realspace and that can be handled or traversed by a human. Terms such asvirtual generally refer to items, structures, buildings, cameras, and soon, that exist, but exist as digital constructs in databases, occupyingmemory identified by storage addresses, in the same may be stored inhard drives, tape drives, solid-state storage devices, RAM, ROM, CD-ROM,DVD, DVD-ROM, and so on.

In other variations, while it is noted that the term “action pocket” hasbeen employed herein, there need not be a separate location in thevirtual or actual maze identified by such a term. In some cases, anactor may simply be caused to appear at instantiation point ascontrolled by the link on the user interface, and the instantiationpoint may be within an action pocket, within the maze itself, at aninterface between the two, and so on.

Chat functionality, either via a text box or via party chat, may beemployed, so that patrons in a group can talk to each other. Inaddition, the chat functionality can be employed in such a way that theactor is added to the party group at the time of actor avatarinstantiation into the maze or at an associated time, e.g., when thepatrons are adjacent in action pocket or within a predetermined distanceof the actor, such that the patrons can hear actor utterances. In thiscase, it may be preferable to obfuscate or otherwise obscure theexistence of the actor in the chat channel. Alternatively, the actor mayvocalize an utterance and all patrons within the maze may be enabled tohear, although in some cases the sound will be attenuated by virtualdistance. 3D audio sources can accomplish this directionality andtapering/drop-off. In other cases, the actor may have control as to whatpatron or group of patrons can hear vocalized utterances. In yet othercases, a custom system may be employed such that an instantiated avatarmay vocalize utterances and be heard by party members outside of thechat channel functionality.

In another variation, the actor interface can allow the actor to customselect which maze and action pocket (or instantiation point) toinstantiate at using the noted links.

Where avatars have become more widely used and where a user can use anavatar for multiple apps or applications, their desired avatar may beemployed for purposes of populating the maze, or they may be provided anavatar, which may be customizable as noted above. In some cases, if auser adopts a particular avatar or clothing for their avatar, such maybe noted in the server 131 and further noted in the actor interface andcaused to automatically have an influence on actor actions, interactiveexperience or interaction intensity, and so on. For example, if a patronwears a particular theme of costume, e.g., a Victorian-themed costume,the actor avatar may adopt an analogous appearance, e.g., may appear inanalogous clothing, or may appear as a Victorian character such as Jackthe Ripper, instead of, e.g., a crazed clown.

In yet another variation, in the event of a bad connection (generallydetermined by a diagnostic test which can be administered before orduring the maze interaction or experience) the system may automaticallyswitch to a next available actor, also employing a corresponding actorinterface.

In another variation, the system may populate the actor interfaces basedon load-balancing, so that the average amount of “characteristic time”is maximized or equalized (or both) between all the actors.

It is noted that certain other terms have been used, and whiledefinitions are not intended to be limiting, it is noted here that theterm “teleportation” is intended to mean a variety of locomotion withinVR or AR (or certain other computer application modalities concerningvirtual environments) where a user is enabled to point at a locationusing a controller or their finger or joystick or other indicator and toimmediately have their avatar transported to the location pointed at. Inaddition, terms such as “AR glass” is intended to mean a partiallysee-through display or window (which may be constituted of glass,plastic, a combination, or the like) which allows a user not only a viewof an external environment but also data visualizations like) wherevisualization elements may be overlaid atop the environment, where thevisualization elements may be CG, video, or the like. AR glasses may beemployed by actors, patrons, operators, and so on.

In one aspect, the invention is directed towards a system for providinga virtual reality experience, including: a set of motorized pads forcoupling to respective feet of a user; a means of communication betweenthe set of motorized pads and a computing environment operating avirtual reality headset; such that the set of motorized pads areconfigured to provide pressure on a user's feet as an avatar within avirtual environment traverses the environment.

Implementations of the invention include one or more of the following.The means of communication may be an RF link or a wired link. The avatarmay be a player character in a videogame or a character in a virtualtour. The set of motorized pads may include a left pad and a right pad,corresponding to a user's left foot and right foot, and the set ofmotorized pads may be configured to provide pressure on the user's leftfoot as an avatar within the virtual environment steps down on theenvironment with their left foot, and where the motorized pads mayfurther be configured to provide pressure on the user's right foot as anavatar within the virtual environment steps down on the environment withtheir right foot.

In another aspect, the invention is directed towards a method ofproviding a multiuser virtual reality experience, including: configuringa server to communicate with a first user computing environment, thefirst user computing environment coupled to a first virtual realityheadset, the first user computing environment configured to generate afirst avatar corresponding to the user, the first avatar situated withina common environment viewable in the first virtual reality headset; andconfiguring a server to communicate with a second user computingenvironment, the second user computing environment coupled to a secondvirtual reality headset, the second user computing environmentconfigured to generate a second avatar corresponding to the user, thesecond avatar situated within the common environment viewable in thesecond virtual reality headset.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of thefollowing. The method may further include configuring the server toallow the first user to provide a tour to the second user. Theconfiguring the server to allow the first user to provide a tour to thesecond user may include configuring the server to cause the secondavatar to automatically follow the first avatar as the first avatarmoves within the common environment. The server may be a socialnetworking server. For example, where the server is a server of a socialnetworking site, the same may allow the first user to indicate entrieson a social networking page corresponding to the first user, and toprovide audio commentary before, during, or after, the indication. Thetour and the audio commentary may be recorded for later playback. Theindication of entries may be via the first avatar pointing at an assetcorresponding to the entry. The entries may include textual entries,audio entries, photographic entries, or video entries. The method mayfurther include receiving an asset from a third-party source distinctfrom the social networking page corresponding to the first user, andconfiguring the server to allow the tour to include the received asset.

In another aspect, the invention is directed towards a non-transitorycomputer readable medium, including instructions for causing a computingenvironment to perform the above method.

In another aspect, the invention is directed towards a method ofproviding a multiuser virtual reality experience, including: configuringa server to communicate with a first user computing environment, thefirst user computing environment coupled to a first virtual realityheadset, the first user computing environment configured to generate acommon environment viewable in the first virtual reality headset; andrecording a tour including audio data as the first user describes thecommon environment.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of thefollowing. The server may be a server of a social networking site, andthe common environment may include visual depictions of entries from asocial networking page corresponding to the first user, and the methodmay further include configuring the server to allow the first user toindicate the entries and to provide audio commentary before, during, orafter, the indication.

While haunted mazes have been the subject of much of the discussionhere, it will be understood that other experiences may also be used,including theatrical experiences, educational experiences, such as “OpenHouses” or “Back-To-School Nights” or other situations, including“regular” school experiences, where groups of users traverse from onelocation (e.g., classroom) to another, where the users are parents orstudents and the “actors” are teachers or administrators. In this case auser colliding with a trigger would indicate a student or parentarriving at the classroom, and this may then indicate to the teacherthat they should get ready to begin their lesson or other presentation.In the theatrical area, the patrons may traverse CG recreations ofscenes of plays, musicals, or operas, and the actors may play out theirscenes as the patrons arrive adjacent the action pockets orinstantiation points associated with trigger areas.

GENERAL

The system and method may be fully implemented in any number ofcomputing devices. Typically, instructions are laid out on computerreadable media, generally non-transitory, and these instructions aresufficient to allow a processor in the computing device to implement themethod of the invention. In more detail, the server 131 may be employedto operate the steps described within this specification and claims withappropriate programming as embodied by instructions stored on anon-transitory computer readable medium and which are used to operate aprogrammer in a computing environment. The computer readable medium maybe a hard drive or solid state storage having instructions that, whenrun, are loaded into random access memory. Inputs to the application,e.g., from the plurality of users or from any one user, may be by anynumber of appropriate computer input devices. For example, users mayemploy a keyboard, mouse, touchscreen, joystick, trackpad, otherpointing device, or any other such computer input device to input datarelevant to the calculations. Data may also be input by way of aninserted memory chip, hard drive, flash drives, flash memory, opticalmedia, magnetic media, or any other type of file-storing medium. Theoutputs may be delivered to a user by way of a video graphics card orintegrated graphics chipset coupled to a display that maybe seen by auser. Alternatively, a printer may be employed to output hard copies ofthe results. Given this teaching, any number of other tangible outputswill also be understood to be contemplated by the invention. Forexample, outputs may be stored on a memory chip, hard drive, flashdrives, flash memory, optical media, magnetic media, or any other typeof output. It should also be noted that the invention may be implementedon any number of different types of computing devices, e.g., personalcomputers, laptop computers, notebook computers, net book computers,handheld computers, personal digital assistants, mobile phones, smartphones, tablet computers, and also on devices specifically designed forthese purpose. In one implementation, a user of a smart phone orwi-fi-connected device downloads a copy of the application to theirdevice from a server using a wireless Internet connection. Anappropriate authentication procedure and secure transaction process mayprovide for payment to be made to the seller. The application maydownload over the mobile connection, or over the WiFi or other wirelessnetwork connection. The application may then be run by the user. Such anetworked system may provide a suitable computing environment for animplementation in which a plurality of users provide separate inputs tothe system and method. In the below system where actors or performerswithin a maze are contemplated, the plural inputs may allow plural users(either plural actors or plural patrons or both) to input relevant dataat the same time.

While the invention herein disclosed is capable of obtaining the objectshereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that this disclosure ismerely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of theinvention and that no limitations are intended other than as describedin the appended claims. For example, the invention can be used in a widevariety of settings, e.g., in the applications of theater, hauntedattractions, themed attractions, mazes, and so on.

TABLE I Types of/ Maze Subtypes of Environments Subtypes of VirtualMazes (Experiences) Virtual Mazes (if any) Types of Locomotion Subtypesof Locomotion Virtual Maze CG Generated Controller, joystick or otherTeleportation (user with (AKA keyboard control controller/joystickpointing artificial, Actually walking, traversing a at desired location.non-physical) distance, and detecting traversal Continuous movement AKAartificial, (e.g., in a large room, room scale Cameras non-physical VR,and so on.) Accelerometers, e.g., pedometer in this, Actually walking,but not GPS traversing a physical distance, Accelerometers, e.g.,pedometer and detecting an amount of Multi-directional treadmill withdistance that would have been sensors indicating effective traverseddistance traveled. Cameras or sensors to measure walking-in-place withgait analysis and thus effective distance travelled Video Light fieldcamera Same as above Generated 180/360 degree camera on a (virtual) railor with multiple rails Combination Mostly video with CG of CG andelements Video Mostly CG with video elements added Real Maze Userphysically AR: glasses or similar HMD Actually walking, traversing a ARglass walks through view environments; CG or distance, and detectingtraversal Cameras to detect and translate maze video components may be(e.g., in a large room, room scale movement overlaid, including VR, andso on.) Accelerometers, e.g., pedometer, actors/action pockets to detectand translate movement VR (in either Through pass GPS, to detect andtranslate case CG or camera movement video employed to componentsvisualize or both can environment, be overlaid at least in on partenvironment, Environment including could be actors/action completelypockets. CG or video generated (or a combination) (using structuregeometry but replacing appearance) Instead of In this case the user mayin Controller/joystick Continuous movement, but user, physical somecases employ a VR HMD Actually walking, traversing a generally notteleportation. camera that is receiving a 180° or 360° distance, anddetecting traversal AR glass (in the case where the traverses mazecamera view of the maze. (e.g., in a large room, room scale AR glass isfitted to the robot Robot could be under control VR, and so on.) camera)of the user or could operate Cameras to detect and translate along a setpath. While a light movement field camera may be Accelerometers, e.g.,pedometer, employed, there may be less to detect and translate movementreason here, as the user can GPS, to detect and translate locomote todifferent movement locations, and thus there may Actually walking, butnot Accelerometers, e.g., pedometer be less of a need to recreatetraversing a physical distance, Multi-directional treadmill with theview from arbitrary and detecting an amount of sensors indicatingeffective locations. distance that would have been distance traveled.traversed Cameras or sensors to measure walking-in-place with gaitanalysis and thus effective distance travelled

1. A method of operating an augmented reality experience, comprising:operating a server to receive data about a maze from a first usercomputing environment, the data about the maze associated with a userdesired locale, and wherein the received data is video data or layoutdata; operating the server to process the received data to determinelocations of one or more action pockets or instantiation points in themaze; operating the server to communicate with the first user computingenvironment, the first user computing environment coupled to a firstaugmented reality display; and operating the server to communicate withan actor computing environment, the actor computing environment coupledto an actor display, the actor computing environment configured togenerate an actor interface, the actor interface providing a linkwherein an actor activating the link may access and control an actoravatar situated or instantiated in an action pocket or instantiationpoint within the maze, wherein the actor interface further displays oneor more entries associated with user game objects, and wherein an entryis displayed on the actor interface based on a user or user game objectassociated with the first user computing environment interacting with arespective particular trigger within the maze, wherein the particulartrigger is associated with a trigger area or trigger volume defined inthe maze, and wherein the interacting with a respective particulartrigger includes intersecting with the trigger area or trigger volume,and capturing actions of the actor using the actor computingenvironment, and operating the server to display a representation of thecaptured actions within the maze such that movements of the actor arerendered on the first augmented reality display as movements of theactor avatar, whereby the actor avatar appears to a user to be actingwithin the maze.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first augmentedreality display is selected from the group consisting of an augmentedreality glasses or headset, a tablet display, or a smart phone display.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the maze is a common environment, andfurther comprising operating the server to communicate with a seconduser computing environment, the second user computing environmentcoupled to a second augmented reality display, the second user computingenvironment configured to generate a respective view of the actor avatarwithin the maze, the respective view being a view from a point of viewof the second augmented reality display.
 4. The method of claim 1,wherein the actor computing environment includes a virtual or augmentedreality headset associated with the actor, the virtual or augmentedreality headset including a respective virtual or augmented realitydisplay, the actor computing environment further including one or morehandheld controllers enabling actor interaction with the actorinterface, the actor computing environment further comprising an inputfor visualization and depiction of actor hands, wherein data for theinput for visualization and depiction of actor hands is generated inpart by the one or more handheld controllers or by a camera imaging theactor hands.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the camera is external oris situated on the virtual or augmented reality headset associated withthe actor.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein the virtual or augmentedreality headset associated with the actor and coupled to the actorcomputing environment is configured to generate an actor view within themaze environment associated with the activated link.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the actor view is associated with the location andorientation of the actor avatar, or wherein the actor view is associatedwith the action pocket.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprisingoperating the server to provide an actor view of the maze to the actorinterface from a point of view of the action pocket or instantiationpoint, wherein the actor view is generated using data from a light fieldcamera.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the captured actions include3-dof head movements, 6-dof head movements, or hand movements.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the hand movements are based on hand imagescaptured by a camera or controller movements, the controller movementsincluding both controller position and orientation.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the hand images captured by a camera include handposition, and orientation, and optionally hand gesture.
 12. The methodof claim 1, wherein the captured actions include one or more actorvocalizations.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising modulatingthe one or more actor vocalizations.
 14. The method of claim 1, whereinthe display of the one or more entries includes sorting the one or moreentries according to a characteristic time associated with each entry.15. The method of claim 14, wherein the characteristic time isassociated with a time duration between a time at which the user gameobject interacts with the respective particular trigger and a time atwhich the user game object is expected to reach a location associatedwith the action pocket within the maze.
 16. The method of claim 1,further comprising operating the server to render one or more additionalcomputer generated objects on the first augmented reality display, theadditional computer generated objects providing an adornment or dressingto one or more walls, doors, windows, rooms, or hallways within themaze.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein the first user computingenvironment is integrated in the first augmented reality display. 18.(canceled)
 19. (canceled)
 20. (canceled)
 21. The method of claim 1,wherein the actor interface also includes one or more action buttons,the one or more action buttons linking to potential actions performed bythe actor or actor avatar upon activation of the respective button. 22.The method of claim 1, further comprising operating the server toreceive one or more user settings from the first user computingenvironment, and wherein the received one or more user settings are usedto control at least in part an appearance of the actor avatar or of themaze.
 23. (canceled)
 24. (canceled)
 25. The method of claim 1, whereinthe operating the server to process the received data includesdetermining using object recognition locations of one or more doors,windows, mirrors, or cabinets.
 26. (canceled)
 27. (canceled)
 28. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the server is a server of a social networkingsite, and further comprising operating the server to allow the firstuser computing environment to stream a view from the first augmentedreality display to viewers on the social networking site.
 29. A servercomputing environment, the server computing environment including anon-transitory computer readable medium, comprising instructions forcausing the server computing environment to perform a method comprising:receiving data about a maze from a first user computing environment, thedata about the maze associated with a user desired locale, wherein thereceived data is video data or layout data; processing the received datato determine locations of one or more action pockets or instantiationpoints in the maze; communicating with the first user computingenvironment, the first user computing environment coupled to a firstaugmented reality display; and communicating with an actor computingenvironment, the actor computing environment coupled to an actordisplay, the actor computing environment configured to generate an actorinterface, the actor interface providing a link wherein an actoractivating the link may access and control an actor avatar situated orinstantiated in an action pocket or instantiation point within the maze,wherein the actor interface further displays one or more entriesassociated with user game objects, and wherein an entry is displayed onthe actor interface based on a user or user game object associated withthe first user computing environment interacting with a respectiveparticular trigger within the maze, wherein the particular trigger isassociated with a trigger area or trigger volume defined in the maze,and wherein the interacting with a respective particular triggerincludes intersecting with the trigger area or trigger volume, andcapturing actions of the actor using the actor computing environment,and operating the server to display a representation of the capturedactions within the maze such that movements of the actor are rendered onthe first augmented reality display as movements of the actor avatar,whereby the actor avatar appears to a user to be acting within the maze.30. An augmented reality headset coupled to a computing environment, thecomputing environment including a non-transitory computer readablemedium, comprising instructions for causing the computing environment toperform a method comprising: transmitting data about a maze to a server,the data about the maze associated with a user desired locale, andwherein the transmitted data is video data or layout data; operating theserver to process the received data to determine locations of one ormore action pockets or instantiation points in the maze; communicatingwith the server, the first user computing environment coupled to a firstaugmented reality display; and wherein the server communicates with anactor computing environment, the actor computing environment coupled toan actor display, the actor computing environment configured to generatean actor interface, the actor interface providing a link wherein anactor activating the link may access and control an actor avatarsituated or instantiated in an action pocket or instantiation pointwithin the maze, wherein the actor interface further displays one ormore entries associated with user game objects, and wherein an entry isdisplayed on the actor interface based on a user or user game objectassociated with the first user computing environment interacting with arespective particular trigger within the maze, wherein the particulartrigger is associated with a trigger area or trigger volume defined inthe maze, and wherein the interacting with a respective particulartrigger includes intersecting with the trigger area or trigger volume,and capturing actions of the actor using the actor computingenvironment, and displaying a representation of the captured actionswithin the maze on the first augmented reality display such thatmovements of the actor are rendered as movements of the actor avatar,whereby the actor avatar appears to a user to be acting within the maze.31. A method of operating an augmented reality experience, comprising:operating a server to receive data about a maze from a first usercomputing environment, the data about the maze associated with a userdesired locale, and wherein the received data is video data or layoutdata; operating the server to process the received data to determinelocations of one or more action pockets or instantiation points in themaze; operating the server to communicate with the first user computingenvironment, the first user computing environment coupled to a firstaugmented reality display; and operating the server to communicate withan actor computing environment, the actor computing environmentproviding at least one artificial intelligence controlled actor with anassociated actor avatar, the actor avatar situated or instantiated in anaction pocket or instantiation point within the maze, the actor avatarcontrolled to perform an action based on a user or user game objectassociated with the first user computing environment interacting with arespective particular trigger within the maze, wherein the particulartrigger is associated with a trigger area or trigger volume defined inthe maze, and wherein the interacting with a respective particulartrigger includes intersecting with the trigger area or trigger volume,and operating the server to render movements of the artificialintelligence actor avatar on the first augmented reality display,whereby the actor avatar appears to a user to be acting within the maze.